Carton flap opening mechanism



Sept. 26, 1950 T. E. PIAZZE 2,5 1

CARTON FLAP OPENING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1946 3 Sliaats-Sheet -1 IN VENTOR.

Tfzonzczafl Piazza BY 1 v Sept. 26, 1950 T. E. PIAZZE ,71

CARTON FLAP OPENING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1946 INVENTOR.

7720722425 ifiazfe,

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 T. E. PIAZZE CARTON. FLAP. OPENING. MECHANISM Sept. 26, 1950 Filed Sept. 27.1946.

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 CARTON FLAP OPENING MECHANISM Thomas E. Piazze, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assig'nor to Shellmar Products Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application September 27, 1946, Serial No. 699,766

This invention has to do with container machines. More particularly, it pertains to improvements in such machines for handling containers of the type in which an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcingcarton, which carton has oppositel disposed closure flaps marginally extending above that portion of the liner to be sealed prior to closing and sealing the flaps over the liner portion, and the provision of such a mechanism is a principal object of the invention. Generally, it is an object of the invention to provide such a mechanism which is adapted to engage the marginal portions of two oppositely disposed closure flaps of a carton to spread them outwardly anddownwardly away from the liner in 15 Claims. 01. 934;

is utilized two flap spreading members pivotally mounted on a reciprocating shaft, the members having cam followers contacting fixed cam elements to operate the spreading members and tuck the flaps in an out of the way. position, and guide members to contact the marginal portions of the remaining flaps initially to separate them and a single spreading element reciprocably mountedto continue to spread the flaps downwardly and outwardly in order to permit the inner liner of the carton to be sealed.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements,

and arrangement of parts, which will be exemvention of cooperating mechanism for first open- I ing one pair of oppositely disposed flaps and immediately thereafter opening the remaining flaps of a carton to exposethe inner liner for sealing purposes;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view, taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the mechanism for outwardly and downwardly spreading the first of two opposed flaps of the carton;

Fig. 3 is a transverse elevational view, partly in section and with parts broken away, taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig 1, illustrating the mechanism for opening the remaining flaps;

Fig. 4. is an elevational view diagrammatically showing the mechanism of Fig. 2 as viewed from the rear of Fig. 1 of the drawings;

Fig. 5 1s an end elevational View, partly in section, diagrammatically representing the manner in which the first two flaps are initially spread outwardly and downwardly and held in locked position;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the top portion of a carton illustrating the downwardly folded flaps and the inner liner sealed ready for closing and sealing the inner and outer flaps of the carton over the inner liner to provide a completed package; and

Fig. '7 is an elevational view illustrating the type of cam bars and positions of the cam rollers for actuating the flap opening mechanisms.

The mechanism for first engaging the marginal portions of two of the oppositely disposed closure flaps of the carton to spread them outwardly and downwardly to be held away from the liner in an out of the way position can best be seen by referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 5. This mechanism constitutes two flap spreading members, or fingers, ill, in, mounted pivotally to be actuated on a reciprocating shaft ll. These members are held in position by collets i2, 12, on the top of the shaft. The shaft passes through a suitable bearing l3 in a portion of the frame I4 of the machine and thereafter passes through a bearing I-5 in a lower portion of the frame of the machine. The lower end of the reciprocating shaft l l is actuated by the mechanism for opening the remaining flaps of the carton as will appear more full hereinafter.

. The members I0, i 0, have downwardly directed portions with extensions !6, it, thereon adapted to engage the marginal portions H, H, of oppositely disposed flaps abovethe top of the liner l8 so as to spread them outwardly and down- Wardly away from the liner in an out of the way position. This outward and downward movement of the members I 0, It, can readily be seen in Fig. 5. It is obtained by the action of the cams 20 (see Fig. 7) contacting cam rollers 2|, 2!, conhected to the opposite ends of the members H), Hi. It will be observed that the spreading members ID, ID, are mounted so that one is higher than the other and that the camming surfaces of the cams 20, 2|], are such as to accommodate the difference in height between the rollers 2 l, 2 I.

The mechanism for lowering the remaining flaps by contacting the marginal portions and moving them outwardly and downwardly away from the liner to an out of the way position to permit the inner liner to be sealed can best be seen by reference to Figs. 1, 3 and 4. There is disclosed a reciprocating shaft 25 mounted within the frame of the machine. The bottom portion of the shaft has a yoke 26 which carries a guide rod 2'? and a projecting portion carrying a cam roller 28 riding in a cam 29 on a rotatable shaft 3|]. At the top of the shaft 25 is an extension arm 3| having a rod 32 to which is secured a substantially curved C-shaped member 33 for contacting the remaining flaps of the carton to move them to an out of the way position as the shaft 25 is reciprocated by the action of the cam 29. In order to accomplish this it is first necessary initially to spread the remaining flaps in order to allow the member 33 to open them since it will be observed that the latter is wider than the widest portion across the carton, at which point the remaining flaps above mentioned are connected. This is done by having the carton (after the first oppositely disposed fiaps have been moved out of the way) pass between two guide members, or wires, 34, 34 (see Fig. 6). The cartons are advanced in a step-by-step movement being caused to pass between the guide wires 34, by virtue of the cartonsbeing carried on a revolving turret, utilizing a turret type carton machine, as illustrated, and are held thereon by arms 5|, affixed to the turret as more fully appears hereinafter. The wires 34 are stationary, being held in the path of the advancing cartons by a member secured to the side frame of the machine adjacent the turret. These members 34, 34, initially contact the inside of the marginal portions 35 of the flaps as the carton filled liner is being advanced, the spread of the wires being such that the flaps will be moved sufficiently outwardly so that the member 33 can complete the spreading thereof. This is accomplished immediately after the carton passes from the station marked A to the station marked B (see Fig. 1). The C-shaped member 33 is adapted to force and break the crease line of these flaps so that they will tend to remain in an out of the way position.

The type of carton illustrated in the present drawings is a carton which is rectangularly shaped in cross section. The first flaps to be opened are the long or side wall flaps and the remaining flaps to be opened or spread are the short or end wall flaps. It will be observed that the side wall flaps are opened first at the station A and the end wall flaps are opened as the carton is advanced to station B. At the same time the end wall flaps are being opened the side wall flaps of the next succeeding carton will be opened simultaneously. This is accomplished by synchronizing the mechanism for opening the end wall flaps with the mechanism for opening the side wall flaps. Preferably, this is accomplished by connecting one end of the top of the cam actuated shaft with the bottom of the shaft II. This can best be seen from Fig. 4. There the shaft 25 has a collet 4|] near its top and secured just below the arm 3|. A connecting link if is pivotally connected at 42 in the collet 4B and the other end of the link 4| is pivotally mounted at 43 in an arm 44, one end of which iS.

connected to the bottom of the reciprocating shaft II by means of a link 45. The other end of the arm is secured in any suitable manner to a portion 36 of the frame of the machine. The link ll carries an adjustable element 41.

In operation, the cam 29 on the shaft actuates the cam 28 which in turn actuates the shaft 25 in order to have the member 33 reciprocate so as to open the short flaps of the carton after they have initially been spread by the wires 34. As the reciprocating shaft 25 moves upwardly it causes the shaft II to move upwardly through the medium of the arm 44 and connecting link 4 thus causing both shafts and attached mechanisms to function simultaneously. As the downward movement of the shaft causes the member .33 to spread the short flaps of the carton, the

next succeeding carton becomes properly positioned under the station A and the reciprocating action of the shaft causes the spreading members l0, It, to be moved outwardly and downwardly by the cam rollers 2|, 2|, as they contact the cam surfaces of the cam bars 2|], 20.

An important part of the mechanisms comprises two hook-like members 5|], 5|] (see Fig. 5), secured to arms 5|, 5|, on the machine proper to move as the carton is advanced. As the marginal portions ll of the flaps extending above the liner i8 are contacted by the projections IE3, IE5, of the members IE3, IE1, and moved downwardly and outwardly, they enter the hook members 50, 50, where they are held in this position as shown in the drawings. After the carton with the long flaps thus opened is passed along, and the wires 3 3, 3d, initially spread the short flaps by contacting the marginal portions 35 thereof, the member 33 downwardly spreads the short flaps to the position shown in the drawings. The inner liner is spread and sealed as shown in Fig. 6. This latter operation is conventional and forms no part of the present invention.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed.

2. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reoiprocable mechanism, including two vertically reciprocating flap spreading members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread themout- Wardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed.

3. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two vertically reciprocating cam actuated and spring retracted reciprocating spreading members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said op positely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly' and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure fiaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner, to be sealed.

1 In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two flap spreading members pivotally mounted on a reciprocating shaft, which spreading members have cam followers contacting fixed cam elements to operate said members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism adapted to engage the margina'l portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed.

5,; Ina machine. forhandling containersof the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, an means to hold said flaps in said out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner 'tolbe sealed.

6;. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, Vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism, including guide members adapted to contact said marginal portions of the remaining flaps initially to separate them and means thereafter adapted to contact the marginal portions of the initially spread flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed.

7. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed-closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls, and mechanism, including a single spreading element reciprocably mounted, adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure fiaps to spread them out-, wardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said innerliner to be sealed,

8. In a machine for handling containers of the type, wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said fiaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reoiprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines oi the carton walls, and mechanism, including a single spreading element mounted upon a cam actuated vertically reciprocable shaft, adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure fiaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed.

9. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination, vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure fiaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure fiaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed, and means cooperatively connecting said last named mechanism with said first named mechanism to actuate the same.

10. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising in combination vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two vertically reciprocating cam actuated and spring retracted reciprocating spreading members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls mechanism, including a single spreading element reciprocably mounted, adapted to engage the marginal portions of the oppositely disposed remaining closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position to permit said inner liner to be sealed, and means, including a connecting link pivotally connecting a vertically reciprocable shaft and said first named mechanism in order to actuate the same to close the first pair of flaps on a carton prior to the closing of the remaining flaps to permit the liner to be sealed.

11. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls.

12. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two vertically reciprocating flap spreading members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the Way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls.

13. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two vertically reciprocating cam actuated and spring retracted reciprocating spreading members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls.

14. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure fiaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said flaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising vertically reciprocable mechanism, including two flap spreading members pivotally mounted on a reciprocating shaft, which spreading members have cam followers contacting fixed cam elements to operate said members, adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure fiaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls.

15. In a machine for handling containers of the type wherein an inner liner is located within an outer reinforcing carton having oppositely disposed closure flaps marginally extending above the liner portion to be sealed prior to closing and sealing said fiaps over said liner portion, the improvement comprising vertically reciprocable mechanism adapted to engage the marginal portions of two of said oppositely disposed closure flaps to spread them outwardly and downwardly away from said liner in an out of the way position, and means to hold said flaps in said out of the way position, said entire mechanism moving in a path outside of the inner confines of the carton walls.

THOMAS E. PIAZZE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

